Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Blood from Skin?

So, I've been reading some interesting articles lately about how skin has been turned into blood. I don't have all the facts, but from what I have read at cbc.ca, this is quite the medical miracle. If this process of turning skin into blood is approved then it is reasonable to believe that there will never be a blood shortage. Also, if you require a blood transfusion there is always a risk of having a reaction. In my life I have had several reactions including hives, anaphylaxis and a seizure. I am thinking that if one could get blood from their own skin then it would be reduce the risk of reaction as well as reduce the risk of contracting any blood born pathogens. My question is if my blood doesn't have factor 5 then would the blood produced from my skin contain factor 5? If so that would be great news for me! Still it's hard for me to believe that in the last 75 years there has been no progress at all in the treatment of Factor 5. The lady I met at the conference last week has been taking fresh frozen plasma to treat bleeds and now 75 years later I am still using the exact same treatment. I am not a scientist but from what I see there has been progress in so many diseases which I think is great, but it makes me sad to think that the only reason there has been no advances for my disease is because there is no market for it. That's the only reason, it's not because science hasn't advanced it's simply because there isn't enough money in it! I feel like I am worth the millions of dollars it would take to develop a better treament for Hemophilia Factor 5.

No comments:

Post a Comment